Gegabrastos kaimas: rusiškoji dvasia Pasvalio krašte

ENThe report refers to a unique village of Gegabrasta located in Pasvalys region by the Lėvuo River. This is a Russian village, where Slavic people lived together with Lithuanians. After the failed uprising of 1863 in Lithuania many Lithuanians were deported and replaced with the settlers from the Russian Empire. Thus the Russian settlers established themselves in the village of Gegabrasta. At the end of the 19th century there were about 300 of them. Many of them were hard-working and tidy, however, some settlers were dishonest and engaged in thefts and robberies. In the end of the 19th century the elementary school and the church for Orthodox believers were built in the village. The church was named St. Nicholas, so the name of the village was also changed to Nikolskoje, which was used until Lithuania regained its independence in 1918. The Russians got along nicely with the Lithuanians, helped each other, and shared holiday celebrations. During World War II, the village of Gegabrasta became deserted because most Russians fled to Russia. Later part of them came back, but the village was not the same as before. The population declined so the school was closed. In Gegabrasta still lives the only true descendant of the Orthodox settlers - teacher Elena Rutkauskaitė. She has accumulated a lot of stories, legends, poems, songs, and wants to publish the book on the village.